


Pack Street: Sleep

by EyeOfTheTempest



Series: The Woes Of A Hornless Ram [4]
Category: Pack Street - Fandom, Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-26 06:05:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9870740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EyeOfTheTempest/pseuds/EyeOfTheTempest
Summary: A simple hiccup in his plans to avoid Avo almost ruin Remmy's night, but things begin to go downhill when he finds himself in a nightmare-ish situation. Literally.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A couple quick things;  
> 1\. I have recently discovered that apparently Betty didn't actually work at Pandora's Box, so let's just forget I were wrote anything about that because I'm a dork XD  
> 2\. Don't expect to see alot of 'Tom'. He's literally just filler because I had to have someone who isn't Avo man the front desk and we don't know of any other canon employees.  
> 3.This story felt like it was longer, but after reading, I discovered that it was, in fact, still pretty short. My bad.

Today's the day.

Well, TONIGHT, I should say.  
It's my first night at my new job. In my uniform, I stand at the front doors, looking up at the sign. 

"Pandora's Box"

It's lit up by bright lights that are somewhat pink in color. Taking a deep breath of the cold night air, I step inside. 

It's warmer then outside, but I can still tell that the A/C is on. I peak around to find that the store's empty. If memory serves, the shop should be closing soon. After a moment of walking, I come out from behind the shelves to find a leopard manning the counter. He looks up from the book in his paws as I get closer.

"Hey, you're the new guy, right?" 

"Yeah. My name's Remmy." 

"I figured." He gestures to my name tag.   
Oh, right. 

"I'm Tom." He holds out his paw, which I uncomfortably shake. I'm starting to get a bit more used to having to shake someone's paw rather then the whole hoof-tap thing, but I doubt it'll ever feel completely comfortable.  
Regardless, I find it's much easier to just shake someone's paw rather then trying to educate them on the matter. 

"Backroom's that way." He points towards a door that, just like the name implies, is towards the back of the store. 'Employees Only' is printed across the top of it in grey letters. 

"Thanks."   
With a nod, he goes back to reading as I head towards the door. 

The room itself is rather small, unlike the garage where Charlie, Wolter and I delivered Tiger Oil a while back. The walls appear to be comprised of a sort of greyish brick, while the floor is some sort of smooth stone. A single fluorescent light hangs from the ceiling, illuminating most of the room. It almost feels like a basement, except for the fact that it's on ground level, and actually rather clean. Not a cobweb to be found. There's also a bit of a strong lemon scent. 

Boxes are piled throughout the room, beneath a few rather empty shelves.  
Welp, time to get to work. 

***

It's what feels like a few hours later when I finally sit down to take a break. I pull out my phone to confirm.   
I've unloaded every box except one, since there was no more space on the shelves. Overall, I think I did pretty good for my first night. I should probably move this last box to storage.   
I set my phone down on a box next to me and get up. 

I freeze, however, as I hear voices from outside. 

"Hey, Avo. I was just about to close up. What are you doing around this time of night?"

Shit. Oh shit. What the hell is Avo doing here!?  
I mean, I guess it wouldn't exactly be uncommon for her to shop from the place she fucking works at but all the nights for her to show up, it just HAPPENS to be tonight! Shit.

"Ah, nothing. Just forgot something in the back room. I'll only be a second."  
Oh god. Pleeassse mean the garage.   
"Oh yeah? The new guy's back there right now. Maybe he's seen it."  
SHIT.  
TOM WHY.  
"New guy?" Avo questions. "Huh. Guess I'm about to meet him then."

Quickly, I find the nearest stack of boxes, and duck behind them.   
My heart feels like a fucking time bomb as the door clicks open. I hear Avo's paw hit the ground before there's an immediate retching sound. 

"Aw CHRIST, who the hell sprayed so much lemon in here!?"   
Oh.   
She would've smelled me if not for all the spray in here.  
I can't help but feel that Dora may have seen this coming.   
Clever.

After a moment, Avo recovers and steps inside. I don't dare to breath as sweat begins to trickle down my face. The spray won't stop her from hearing me.   
I don't risk peeking out from behind the boxes, so I have no idea what she's looking for, but after a moment she finally leaves, shutting the door behind her. I exhale loudly once I'm sure she won't hear it as voices begin to come from outside again. 

"New guy my ass, there was nobody in there Tom."

"What? You sure? I saw him walk in."

"Sure you did."

"Huh. Dude must've left without me noticing."   
Yeah, I wish.

"That, or you're just drunk off your ass again. My sinuses were just destroyed by citric acid and I can STILL smell alcohol all over you."

"Ah, whatever."

After a moment, the door opens and I hear two sets of footsteps leaving as it closes again. Once a minute or two has passed, and I've caught my breath, I peak out of the door.   
The whole shop's dark, and empty. 

I flip the backroom lights off, and leave before either of them decide to come back.   
I leave out the backdoor, to avoid accidentally running into Avo or Tom on my way home. 

I peel my shirt off too, so that I'm only wearing a T-shirt underneath it.   
Don't want to take chances. 

 

After a long walk, I end up home either before or after Avo. I can't tell which, but it doesn't matter.   
I flop onto my bed immediately when I get home, tired and still a little shaken.

God, if she had found me...

Maybe. I'm making to big a deal out of this. Sure, she was pretty unbearable the first time, but the next time I saw her, Avo didn't really give me too much shit about catching me in the store. Maybe it'd be different....  
But I don't know if that's really I chance I feel like taking.  
Whatever, I'll think about all of this in the morning. For now, sleep is calling my name.

Or not. 

I toss and turn in bed, but I don't feel the least bit tired.  
Well, I do, but still, I can't seem to even THINK about sleeping. The worse part is, I'm not even sure why. Yeah, I'm bugged by my earlier almost-encounter with Avo, but not enough to lose sleep.

Why can't I just fucking rest, damnit?

With a sigh, I jump out of bed. Maybe a glass of water will do me some good.

I stop for a second on my way to the kitchen, before turning back around and checking my bed.

No hidden Foxes, this time.

I'm jot sure if that's an upside or not.

I get myself a glass of milk, and down it in a few gulps.   
Still, nothing.   
Wait, didn't I get up for water?  
Not that it makes much difference, I guess.  
I try lying down again, but still, I just lie there.   
Maybe a walk would do me some good?   
I reach to open my front door, but the knob doesn't budge. Every lock is undone, yet it remains unmoving. As if somehow frozen in space and time. I twist harder, but my wrist only begins to hurt more.  
Wait, when did my wrist start to hurt? I'm not sure, but it must've at some point.   
I let go of the door.   
Gee, when did it get so stuffy in here? Maybe that's why it's so hard to sleep.  
Striding across my living room, I move to crack open a window, but it stays shut. I try again, but I have no better luck with it then I did before.   
It's almost like someone glued all the openings in my apartment shut. But no one would do that.  
Right?  
Like, honestly, what kind of person glues windows and doors shut? 

Maybe the same kind that trick you into illegally lifting medical grade phermones for them.  
Maybe the same kind that throw you under the bus for shit you didn't do.   
Maybe the kind that relish in your fucking pain.   
Think about it, why WOULDN'T they do this?  
And why the hell am I suddenly thinking in some kind of second-person bullshit? 

It feels like I'm in some sort of cheesy horror novel where the main character gets locked in a room and slowly starts losing his mind.

Yeah, I really need that fresh air.

I shuffle over to my door only to remember that it's stuck again.   
Shit, now is really not the time.

I try to open the door again.   
I swear, I can almost hear the laughs. "Poor little lambchop couldn't open his door, hahaha."  
Ha ha indeed.  
I twist the knob harder, yet it remains shut.   
C'mon, now's reaaaally not the time.

I swear, that incessant laughter.  
It's only in my head, but it sounds so real. It FEELS so real.   
No, this is not okay.   
I throw my hoof against the door, only to suddenly recoil in pain.  
Hooves, right. Not great for punches.   
Instead, I try a kick.   
The door still doesn't even vibrate or shift in the slightest.  
Nononono, not now. Please, not now. 

I step back a bit, and shoulder-bash my door.   
Nothing.  
I try again.  
And again.  
And again.  
And nothing happens.  
I struggle weakly against the door and the room begins to feel warmer.   
God, I'm boiling alive in here.  
There's gotta be something. Gotta be SOME way to get out. 

I take a few steps back, and run at the door. This time, I dive at it headfi-

Everything begins to go numb as I bounce off the door and flat onto my back.   
My head feels like it's been cleaved in half. In all my years of headbutting, I've never experienced this kind of pain.

I try to stand up, but immediately fall back over.  
After a second, I regain my feet.  
There's got to be a way out. There's got to.  
There's no fucking way that I'm going to die in here.

I heard that when your body gets too hot, your eyeballs pop out of your skull and your brain explodes.   
I really didn't need that image in my head. 

God, I really didn't.

Panicking, I search for some way out.   
There's nothing.  
Only two exits.   
Both are blocked.

Wait, my window isn't an exit.

...yet...

There's literally no way out.   
No way-  
Unless...  
My hoof immediately goes to the spot on my chest where the whistle should be.  
SHOULD. Be.  
Shit, not now.  
Not now, of all times.  
It must be in my room.

I hustle over to the door, and open it far easier then the other one.   
Yet, what lies behind makes things far more complicated.

My room is gone.  
All that lies behind the door is an empty black hallway.   
The longer I stare down it, the longer my vision begins to blur.   
The longer I stare, the more my head aches.  
The longer I stare, the more my ears ring.   
The longer I stare, the more I can hear the voices. The voices calling me.

"Remmy?"   
"Remmy, can you hear us?"   
"Remmy, come out." 

Yes, I really should.   
I should come out of this room, and into the hall.   
My hooves have already began moving forward.  
Glad my whole body is on the same page.   
I can hear the voices growing lowder.  
"Remmy!"  
"Remmy, get out here!  
"REMMY"   
. Thick claws suddenly begin to snake forward from the shadows as I get closer. I can feel them enveloping me like a thick protective blanket. Slowly, my heart begins to slow down. My eyelids begin to feel heavy.   
Yes.  
Sleep...

"Remmy" One of the voices begins to sound louder then the others. It's deep, and a little scratchy.  
But, somehow it's unusual. Wolter and Anneke have scratchy voices, but this voice....it's almost distorted.  
"Remmy" it calls.  
What? What does it want with me?  
"Remmy." It sounds a bit...stern..like it's trying to get me to do something?  
The claws pull me closer, and immediately the scent of smoke is brought to mind.   
The scent of fire.

All at once, I'm suddenly reminded of how hot it is.   
My blood is boiling, and I'm melting like a fucking popsicle.   
No, this isn't ok.   
This is not sleep.  
"REMMY" it calls again.  
I struggle against the massive claws, but they only grip me tighter as the shadows in front of me open up suddenly, forming a kind of gaping maw.  
"REMMY!" The voice is even louder now.  
I begin trash wildly.   
This is not okay.  
This is not okay.  
THIS IS NOT OKAY  
Rows of sharp, jagged teeth begin to erupt from the creature's maw.   
The claws pull me closer as it opens wide, giving one last deep, distorted roar.   
"R E M M Y"  
This is not sleep.  
This is a dream.  
This a nightmare.  
THIS IS A FUCKING NIGHTMARE.

"IT'S JUST A NIGHTMARE."

I suddenly find myself lying on my back.   
My head aches, and my ears are still ringing.  
For a moment, I notice the oil black claws pinning my down and bleat in panick before being suddenly shaken.

"HEY, Calm down. It's just us."  
My eyes adjust, and I find that Betty's looming over me.  
At the edge of my vision, I can see the twins, as well as Charlie and Marty standing next to the couch.  
They look...scared.   
Almost like they've seen a ghost.

"You done?" Betty asks. I just sort of blink at her.   
"W-what?" Is all I can manage.  
I half expect her to roll her eyes, but instead, she just continues to stare at me with a serious expression.  
"If I let you go, are you going to start freaking out again?"  
"Again? What does that mean?"

"Shit, he doesn't know, does he?" Marty asks, seeming a bit bemused.

"You were sleep walking, fluff." Betty begins, finally letting go and taking a seat next to me on the couch. "You were moving around, screaming, knocking things over. It seemed like you couldn't even hear us."

"I, well.." I try to formulate a response, but I'm not sure how to even reply to any of this. 

"Guess there's some truth about the whole 'don't wake up a sleepwalker' myth." Wolter shrugs. He looks less worried then before, but I can still see a trace of it in his eye.

Finally, I sit up, scratching the back of my head.   
"Well, uh, I appreciate this and all, guys, but I think I'm better now. You can go now. Thanks for, uh, coming to check on me."

Wolter and Anneke exchange looks before shrugging and standing up. Charlie and Marty silently follow. I lean to side to peak out the doorway. Al and Avo are both there as well, leaning against the door frame. Gee, guess I woke up the whole pack except Ozzy.   
Or maybe they just care about me THAT much. 

Eventually, only Betty remains. She too gets up, but instead of leaving, she closes the door before turning back around and walking towards the couch. Sitting down next to me, she puts her paws together.

"So, Y-" She pauses midway through her sentence.  
"So, Remmy. How long have these little nightmares of yours been going on?"  
"Nightmares?" I ask.  
"Yes, nightmares. According to the twins, this isn't your first one. How long?" She was again.   
"Just....a few days."  
"A few days?" She stares at me with an expression somewhere in between worried and annoyed.  
"And you just didn't say anything?"  
I stare back at her. "Yeah. What, was I just supposed to stumble over to someone's door in the middle of the night like a little kid and say 'I had a bad dream. Can I sleep with you?'"  
Betty snorts a bit. "Eh, wouldn't hurt."   
"'Scuse me?" I cough a bit, choking on my words as my cheeks heat up.  
"Ah, nevermind. Tell yeah what. You very obviously need some help with this. I'm no psychologist, but until we get you sorted out, I've got the next best thing. I'll just stay over here from now on. That way, nobody has to get out of bed in the middle of the night to pick the excessive amount of locks you keep on your door."  
Ooooh shit.  
"Whoa whoa whoa, I don't think that's a very good idea-" I start to argue, but Betty cuts me off by pressing one of her claws to my muzzle. "And arguing is an even worse one, yarnball, so quit your complaining and take a good opportunity when it comes to you."   
Before I can even quite process what that's supposed to mean, she pulls me into a firm, yet warm hug.

Despite how long I've probably been out for, I find myself too tired to argue.


End file.
